Best Coffee in a Bookstore 2004 | Ichabod's Books | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Coffee in a Bookstore

Ichabod's Books

Bookish bargain hunters come to browse the new and used titles at Ichabod's Books, but they stick around to drink the coffee. The store's modest cafe counter serves straight java, baked goods and espresso drinks, including a vanilla latte that's pure perfection. On weekend afternoons, readers and loafers alike sip joe and sink into well-worn chairs that line the comfortably cramped floor. Yes, Starbucks has invaded Barnes & Noble, and Borders has its own cafe, but those superplex-style stores can't touch the loose, Left Bank vibe of Ichabod's, the literary heart of south Broadway.

Best Place for Bibliophiles to Score

Book Buffs Ltd.

Janis Frame is a pusher. For Denver book collectors, her spacious Book Buffs Ltd. is as addictive as a line of coke. You can almost hear shoppers slapping their veins and muttering, "Just one more, man," as they browse the shelves of fine first editions, limited editions and small-press releases. The store, which recently moved from the Golden Triangle to a new spot on South Pearl, boasts everything from obscure chapbooks to modern signed firsts, such as Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections -- and it's all impeccably organized and alphabetized. Each volume has its own siren song, luring readers to caress its cover, scan its pages, stroke its spine. Just one more, man.

Best Cheap Travel

Capitol Hill Books

Capitol Hill Books has always been a great place to while away an afternoon. And with the 10 percent-off card for frequent buyers, the 3,000-square-foot bookstore is habit-forming. The new travel section is just making matters worse. Because it's stocked with 4,000 travel guides, armchair travel books, memoirs, dictionaries, language books and books in other languages, there's no better place to see the world. Check the shelves regularly, because books on Thailand, Cuba, Vietnam and South America disappear quickly. But at just $5 to $6 a pop, it's suddenly affordable to go places.

Best Cowboy Safety Gear

Lancaster's Western Wear

A throwback to Denver's cowtown past, Lancaster's Western Wear caters to the last of the city's real cowboys and ranchers -- especially those who earn money on the rodeo circuit. Lancaster's "Rock-N-Roll Rodeo Gear" department carries all the protective duds -- from helmets and flak jackets to gloves, ropes and more -- that a bucked-up bullrider could want. Looking to ride the ring in safety and style? This is your outpost.

Best Clothes for Aspiring Vatos

Suavecito's

Craig Pea and Jay Salas have gone platinum with their line of zoot suits, dressing everyone from Snoop Dogg to David Bowie. Now they're inking deals with retailers and high-profile sports-apparel companies to market their Chingaso Gear line of Latin-inspired fight clothes. Hoodies, tees, boxing robes, prison-orange jumpsuits -- it's all on the cutting edge of the highly coveted Latin market. But just because Pea and Salas are bustin' out doesn't mean they've lost their edge. After all, you've got to know the street to make clothes for it. Stay trucha!

Best Gifts for Chosen People

Aharon's Books

Brighten the bar mitzvah, or the table, with a stop at Aharon's Books, where the massive selection includes everything from Kabbalah texts to a Yiddish version of The Cat in the Hat. A stop for

cooks as well as readers, Aharon's carries all the accoutrements of a kosher kitchen, including challah covers, matzoh boxes and baking pans marked "parve," "dairy" or "meat." There are also mezuzahs for the home, jewelry for women, black hats for men, and kippot for everyone. For serving Denver's Jewish community for six years, we say mazel tov to Aharon's!

Best Gifts for Geeks

Mile High Comics Megastore

Mile High Comics' flagship store is home to the usual players in the comic-book universe: Marvel, DC, Dark Horse. But there's so much more to Mile High, a twelve-year-old-boy's wet dream of a store. Rows of glass cases in the 11,000-square-foot space hold Aliens, Iron Maiden and Futurama figurines while the shelves and walls are lined with graphic novels, manga and movie posters. Three days a week, guys come ready to role-play during epic tournaments of the popular game of Magic. Males dominate the clientele, but female sci-fi goddesses are also in the house, albeit in fictional form: Posters and paraphernalia honoring Agent Scully, Xena and Queen Amidala are abundant. C'mon, get geeky.

Best Gifts for Girls With Weird Taste

Miss Talulah's

Science may never fully explain why certain women go gaga for the simplest things -- a slender notebook from China, say, or a small, distressed-looking birdhouse. A cornucopia of feminine kitsch, Miss Talulah's is such a woman's treasure trove -- a fun, arty adventure of a store in the burgeoning Ballpark neighborhood. Handmade soaps, folk-art chandeliers, vintage poster art from the Orient and handmade pillows are scattered among the nooks and crannies of the small shop; many of the display pieces are for sale, too. It's a dense, dainty place for the girl who has everything...but still really needs a set of antique beaded candlestick holders.

Best Place to Find a Flirty Frock

Agogo Star

We love supporting local designers, but even better is supporting local designers whose wares are cute enough to make the pages of top fashion magazines. Nicole Beckett started the Agogo Threads line out of her parents' house in Golden, and last spring, she opened her first boutique, Agogo Star, in Boulder. Now Maya, Beyoncé and other celebs are wearing her vintage-styled dresses, skirts and halters in the pages of Cosmopolitan, Teen People and Bust. The Fairy Dust Frock and Petal Skirt With Crepe Tie-Front Top are sure to be killers for spring.

Best Place to Get in the Mood

Sweet Utopia

Sweet Utopia is an anomaly in the 21st century -- a store dedicated solely to relaxation and romance. Barbara Lynn Trattler's north Denver hole-in-the-wall is a sensual curio, draped and dotted with little luxuries to help heighten the senses. Here you'll find hand-dyed and beaded slip dresses, jingly Egyptian hip scarves, cut-flower stems, treasure boxes and lip-shaped truffles. Trattler also assembles hand-packaged Erotiberry gift baskets, which can include everything from massage oil and chocolates to champagne and flowers. You can't buy love, but at Sweet Utopia, it's fun to try.

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